Pubs, Coffeehouses, and Democracy

In the Center for Public Justice’s Capitol Commentary, Matthew Kaemingk looks at the importance of pubs and coffeehouses for democracy and community:

Democratic theorists lament that too many Americans now exclusively receive their political news and analysis through ideologically narrow sources.As Americans continue to construct tighter and tighter ideological echo chambers for themselves, many wonder how a nation so divided will ever sustain a common civic discourse across their differences.

While they can’t solve the problem entirely, few public spaces in American life can bridge the growing economic, political, and religious divides like a neighborhood coffeehouse or pub.